8. NEVERLAND (part 2)

When they woke up the next day, the first thing Hook did was to go out and check the weather. The day was just perfect and, when he returned to the ship with the good news, he found breakfast waiting for him in the cabin. Aurora had already started eating one of the biscuits.

"I wanted to wait for you, but I was hungry" she apologized.

"Are you kidding?" he found her really adorable, like a little girl who'd been caught in the middle of a mischief. "You can start anytime you want." he sat down next to her and started to eat too "Thanks for this."

"It's nothing, you can't be the only one who works here."

"I'm not working... and changing the subject, the weather has improved a lot this morning. So, when we finish with this" he pointed at the food "we're packing and going out of here." she nodded.

They finished eating and cleaned up the cabin. Then, they packed some clothes and enough food for the following days. The magic beans were safe in one of his pockets. He also gave her a pair of jeans he'd found (they were Emma's, since the sheriff had found a pirate outfit more comfortable) and one of his shirts.

"You'd better put them on" he said "But you should take the dress too."

She did what he'd suggested and minutes later they were leaving the Jolly Roger behind on a small boat.

"We need to cross the Mermaids Lagoon" he explained.

"Mermaids? Are there mermaids here?"

"Yes, they are."

"And are they dangerous?" she'd heard about certain ones that weren't exactly friendly.

"Don't worry, they respect me" he answered.

They were crossing the same waters with rocks where they'd been in two nights before, aboard the Jolly Roger. Suddenly, they heard a splash near them.

"A mermaid?" she asked.

"Probably. Have you ever seen one?"

"Just in books." He said 'uh huh' and kept rowing. After some moments of silence, he spoke again:

"Now you're going to see a real one" he made a gesture with his head indicating the place where a blonde-haired woman had just emerged from the sea and was approaching them. Aurora noticed she was really beautiful. Five or six more mermaids joined her and approached the boat.

"Good morning, captain" said the first mermaid they'd seen "We've missed you." Aurora didn't like her voice tone. It was... too nice. She raised an eyebrow. Killian didn't see her since he was focused on being 'a gentleman' with the mermaids.

"Good morning, ladies" he said with a smile.

"Why haven't you come to visit us before?" asked another mermaid using her most adorable face. None of them seemed to notice the princess.

"My apologies, sweethearts, I've been very busy" he answered. Aurora gave him a murderous look, but he didn't notice it and kept talking "I must say you're as pretty as usual."

That was more than Aurora could bear, so she trod on his foot.

"Ouch! Why have you done that?" the captain asked, rubbing his hurting foot.

"Do you really need an answer?" she asked in response.

"I was just being nice" he tried to defend himself.

Their conversation was interrupted by another mermaid:

"And she is..." she said.

"Oh, where are my manners? Let me introduce you... Aurora, they're the Neverland mermaids... Neverland mermaids, she's Aurora." the princess greeted them with a simple 'hello', trying to be nice, althought she was really upset.

"Is she your girlfriend?" was the only response, made by one of the mermaids. Aurora couldn't believe it, hadn't nobody taught that fish good manners?

"Yeah" he answered "I'm sorry but this ship" he pointed at himself "has found its port."

"Ohhhhh" they said with deception.

"Don't do this to us" complained the blonde.

"I'm sorry, ladies" he repeated.

"But look at her, she's not for you." said the same mermaid. Aurora's mouth opened, how did she dare?

"She wouldn't survive a whole day on her own" said another one.

"Excuse me?!" asked the princess with a threatening glance.

"Just look at you, my dear, you're like a little girl."

"Ohhhh" she said in an offended tone and with the same murderous look "Dare to say it again and you'll see what this little girl is able to do, fish!" Hook couldn't help laughing.

"Fish?!" said the mermaids, very offended.

"We must continue our journey" said Killian trying to finish with the situation "Ladies, always a pleasure." the mermaids didn't say anything, they just returned to the sea, splashing too much, specially in Aurora's direction.

She didn't say any words until they reached the shore. Once they'd done it and they'd hidden the boat among some bushes, he dared to speak:

"Are you upset?" he asked.

"Upset? Why? Because you've been flirting with that... fish? Because they've treated me as an idiot?"

"Come on, Aurora, the haven't treated you as an idiot, they're just jealous."

"Ah, they haven't... she wouldn't survive a whole day on her own" she imitated the mermaids.

"Well, they're quite right." 'Damn it' he thought immediately.

"Quite right?... Stupid... arrogant... and... womanizer... pirate" she marked each word with a shove. Killian was trying not to smile. "Why don't you go with the fish girls if I'm so weak?" He trapped her in his arms "No, no, don't come with a hug now."

"Because is you who I want to be with, and nobody else. And I know you're not so weak."

"Are you saying this so I stop being upset?"

"Maybe... but you know I mean it." she seemed to calm down.

"I'm still upset" she said.

"I'll make you change your mind" he replied very convinced. "But until that moment, let's keep walking." he held out his hand "Show me how strong you are" she rolled her eyes, but took it.

.

The sun was high on the sky when they arrived the Hangman's tree. For her, it was a big tree, but it had nothing special. She wondered where the refuge Killian'd talked about was when he opened a trap door on the floor, revealing a stone slide which leaded downwards.

"Follow me" he said righ before dropping the luggage and disappearing down the slide. It wasn't exactly the way she would choose to enter a place but, what could she do? He was waiting for her when she landed some metres below.

They were in a large room with many doors and curtains on their walls. It had a large handmade table with many chairs, each one different from the others. There were also many beds, some of them made using the tree's roots. She could even see a fireplace with its chimney.

"Here is when the boys who escaped from Peter Pan used to live." he explained.

"Those you sent to Storybrooke with the famous compass?" she asked.

"Yeah, you listened to the happy family that first night" he answered "I wonder how that boys are now." He made a pause, as if he were lost in his own thoughts. Then, he shook his head and spoke again "Never mind, just make yourself comfortable, this is all ours."

"I like it." she said while sitting in one of the beds. "And what have you planned to do from this moment on?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing" she repeated without understanding. He was supposed to have a plan there, that was the reason he'd wanted to go to Neverland.

"What's the rush?" he asked "When has been the last time you've relaxed? I mean, like holidays."

"I don't even remember." she answered.

"I knew it. These are our holidays. Just do whatever your body asks for. If you want to move, we'll move and if you want to rest and do absolutely nothing, that's what we'll do. We've got all the time in the world to show you what I want you to know. So, princess, what do you want to do?"

"I want you to come here with me."

"So you're not upset anymore."

"Of course not."

When he sat by her on the bed, she rested her head on his shoulder. He hugged her with the same arm.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"No." she answered.

"That's my girl..." he rubbed her arm "So, if you're not tired, I've got a proposition." he gave her a meaningful glance.

She smiled, knowing exactly what proposition it was... and she had no interest on refusing it.

.

After spending the rest of the day in the Hangman's tree, in the next morning, they decided to start exploring the island. Hook'd said that they didn't need to take anything with them, apart from some food for the journey. That day he would show her something special.

Some hours passed until they reached the place he wanted to go. It was a waterfall. They'd had to walk into a river to reach it.

"Now you have to listen carefully" he explained.

"I can only hear the water." she said after some moments in silence.

"Pay more attention." She felt quite stupid, but she trusted him. Then, she heard something more.

"Bells... where do they come from?" she asked.

"From a secret place. Do you mind getting wet?"

"I'm wet right now" she replied.

"I mean... soaking wet. We need to cross it" he pointed to the water.

"What?"

"It's worth, trust me." he took her hand. "There's a portal here. Are you ready?" she nodded with worried eyes "One... two... three." they jumped into the waterfall...

... and it disappeared behind their backs. She was shivering because of the cold water.

"This is what I wanted to show you, princess. Welcome to Pixie Hollow" he said.

Aurora looked around wide-eyed. In front of her there was a land she'd never heard about before. She could see a huge forest, but it was not a common one. It seemed to be divided into four areas, each one with the characteristics of a different season (winter, spring...). There was a long river which crossed all the land and, in the centre, she could see a huge tree which shined strangely.

"How's this possible?" she asked.

"Magic. Good magic." he answered. "Do you see the tree? Of course you do. It's like a factory... of fairy dust. Come with me." he added.

They walked some metres. She could see many animals among the trees and some kind of little fairies.

"What are they?" she asked again, totally fascinated.

"They're called pixies. This is their home. Each one is different from the others and has a specific job. All you can see wouldn't be possible without them... they make everything work here."

They entered the spring area, which was the closest to them.

"Aren't we disturbing them?" she asked, thinking about the pixies.

"Of course not. We can come everytime we want."

"Really?" on her face there was a excited smile.

"Really" he repeated. "I guess you've liked my idea."

"Absolutely... how did you discover this?"

"I spent centuries here, and I'm captain Hook, I couldn't just stay in the Jolly Roger plotting my revenge. So I became a Neverland expert, as I told you days ago. And if you give me enough time, I'll make you become one too."

"Aren't you bored of it?"

"Do you know what happens? Despite having explored it during decades, I never enjoyed any of these places... all that I did was grieving Milah and thinking about my revenge... about the crocodile... But now I've got a reason to enjoy everything." he smiled at her. "There are still many dangers in this land, but it has improved considerably since our last visit. There's a couple of places we must avoid, specially if we don't want to share a friendly talk with the Lost ones, but apart from that, here are some of the most beautiful places I've ever been: rivers, beaches, lakes, forests... this place. So what do you think about spending a year of holidays here?"

"A year?"

"Have I mentioned that a year here is more or less like a month in our land?" he said, trying to convince her. "And that we don't have to worry about food or anything?"

"I don't know... it's still a lot of time."

"I think it's enough to enjoy everything properly. If you get bored before it ends, tell me and we'll leave immediately..." He looked over Aurora's shoulder and smiled "Hey, look who's coming to greet us." a blonde pixie was flying over them and ended up sitting on Killian's hook "Hi Tinker, what's up?" the little creature's voice sounded as the little bells they'd heard before crossing the waterfall. Aurora couldn't understand anything, but Killian was apparently able to communicate with pixies. They exchanged a couple of sentences, each one on their own language, while the princess was looking at them with a smile, unable to believe what she was seeing. Finally, the captain looked at her "Aurora, come here, this is Tinkerbell..." she said 'hi' to the pixie, who waved her hand "the poor thing was a Peter Pan's slave until we six set her free...Tinker, she's Aurora..." the fairy asked him something in her language "... yes, she's my girlfriend. And I've asked her to spend a year here with me, but I don't know her answer yet." Aurora smiled.

"The answer is yes."